MONTHLY DRILLS

WEEK ONE

EXERCISE ONE

PURPOSE: To increase reading speed

MATERIAL: Non-fiction book containing familiar and easy material. Timer.

HAND MOTION: Move your hand in a pattern that resembles the letter S” or a meandering river. Option: Move your hand back and forth and down the page without making any loops.

Go to the first page of a chapter in an easy non-fiction book. Use your hands and read for 5 minutes at your fastest comprehension rate.

Go back to where you began reading. Use your hands and read for 5 minutes at double your comprehension reading rate.

Go back to where you began reading. Use your hands and read for 5 minutes at triple your comprehension reading rate.

Go back to where you began reading. Use your hands and read for 5 minutes at your fastest comprehension rate.

For a minimum of 1 minute write down all the material you can remember.

Draw a brain map of everything you can remember.

7. Determine your reading speed and enter it on your progress sheet.

EXERCISE TWO

PURPOSE: To improve reading speed using hand motions

MATERIAL: Non-fiction book containing familiar and easy material. Timer.

HAND MOTION: Move your hand in a pattern that resembles the letter S” or a meandering river. Option: Move your hand back and forth and down the page without making any loops.

Read for five minutes using your hand to brush and underline at your top comprehension rate.

Write down all you can remember.

3. Draw a brain map of everything you can remember.

4. Determine your reading rate and enter it on your progress sheet.

MONTHLY DRILLS

WEEK TWO

WARM UP

PURPOSE: To prepare yourself for high speed reading exercises

MATERIAL: Non-fiction book containing familiar and easy material. Timer.

1. Read for 1 minute.

2. Use your hand and finish each page in 1-2 counts.

3. Tap your foot to keep your pace.

4. Make certain you complete an entire page in two taps or less.

EXERCISE ONE

PURPOSE: To increase reading speed and comprehension

MATERIAL: Non-fiction book containing familiar and easy material. Timer.

HAND MOTION: Try varying your hand motions by using a different one each day as well as the ones you enjoy using.

1. Skim material in a chapter at a rate of 2-10 seconds per page. Make certain you complete an entire chapter in five minutes or less.

2. Read the material in your chapter in 3 minutes or less.

3. Review the chapter’s material in 3-5 minutes by creating index cards containing the key facts and new vocabulary. Take more time if necessary but work as quickly as possible.

4. Draw a book map of the chapter’s key points and vocabulary.

5. If time permits repeat these steps in a new chapter.

6. Determine your reading speed and enter it on your progress sheet.

EXERCISE TWO

PURPOSE: Increase reading comprehension

MATERIAL: Use a familiar book, magazine article, or journal

1. Using a familiar book’s chapter, a magazine article, or journal article, skim, read, and review for full comprehension.

2. Create index cards for new facts and vocabulary and memorize them.

3. Create a peg list for 10 major facts.

4. Create a mnemonic for 5 key facts.

5. Draw a book map of the key facts and vocabulary.

6. Determine your reading speed and enter it on your progress sheet.

MONTHLY DRILLS

WEEK THREE

WARM UP

PURPOSE: To prepare yourself for high speed reading exercises

MATERIAL: Non-fiction book containing familiar and easy material. Timer.

1. Read for 1 minute.

2. Use your hand and finish each page in 1-2 counts.

3. Tap your foot to keep your pace.

4. Make certain you complete an entire page in two taps or less.

EXERCISE ONE

PURPOSE: Increase skimming speed comprehension level

MATERIAL: Non-fiction book containing familiar and easy material. Timer.

1. Using a familiar non-fiction book skim for a total of 5 minutes at a rate of 2-5 seconds per page.

2. Write down key facts and vocabulary that you can remember on cards for 1-2 minutes.

3. Draw a book map of the key facts and vocabulary that you can remember.

4. Repeat these steps in new material.

EXERCISE TWO

PURPOSE: Improve reading comprehension

MATERIAL: Non-fiction book containing familiar and easy material. Timer.

1. Skim a chapter in a familiar book in 3-5 minutes.

2. Read the same material at your top comprehension rate.

3. Review the material for good comprehension for 10-15 minutes. Use index cards, pegs, mnemonics, and draw a book map.

4. Continue with new material if time permits.

MONTHLY DRILLS

WEEK FOUR

WARM UP

PURPOSE: To prepare yourself for high speed reading exercises

MATERIAL: Non-fiction book containing familiar and easy material. Timer.

5. Read for 1 minute.

6. Use your hand and finish each page in 1-2 counts.

7. Tap your foot to keep your pace.

Make certain you complete an entire page in two taps or less.

PURPOSE: Practice high speed reading with good comprehension

MATERIALS: Choose materials appropriate for your studies

1. Choose a book having 200-400 pages.

2. Skim entire book in 5-10 minutes. Look for the flow of the topics, visual aids, summaries, glossaries, indices, and other items described in this course. Decide what information you want to focus upon and learn it.

3. Read entire book in 20-30 minutes focusing upon information that is relevant to your purpose. Mark off things you need to think about or review with a | or *. Place all marks in the margin.

4. Review the materials you marked off during the last step. Use any of the memory tools to retain it including index cards, brain maps, mnemonics, memory music tape, pegging, and engaging your senses.

5. Increase the challenge level of your book each day.

6. Remember you can chunk down technical material into smaller sections to enhance comprehension and retention.

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